


Cheering For Me Now

by jimmoriartyisthebestboss



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: M/M, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Post-Captain America: The First Avenger, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Pre-Captain America: The First Avenger, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-01
Updated: 2018-12-09
Packaged: 2019-09-05 05:22:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16804444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jimmoriartyisthebestboss/pseuds/jimmoriartyisthebestboss
Summary: Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes fell in love in a time when their love was not tolerated. Now, when they finally get to be together, they reflect on the moment when they realized they were in love with each other.





	1. Steve

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone!
> 
> First off, I know that I didn't post on Friday as I usually do and I am so sorry about that! I got really busy and am doing my final papers for this semester to turn in for my Master's program. I got too busy and tired to edit this so it didn't get published till today.
> 
> Second off, surprise! This is my first story that is not a stand alone! This is going to be a two part story with one part following Steve and another following Bucky. I wrote these as originally two separate fan fics but they fit together so perfectly that I had to put them together. The second chapter will be up next week!
> 
> Third, the title for this is taken from the song Cheering for Me Now by Lin Manuel Miranda. It's a brilliant song and I wanted to use it as a title.
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

Steve stood at the window of his apartment, looking out at the blue sky that rose above the tree line. The sun glared down at him and heated the window, fractures of light bouncing off of the glass. Some of the sun’s heat pressed into the room but despite the heat’s insistance, the climate-controlled room stayed a comfortable temperature. It was only when Steve pressed his hand to the glass that he felt the heat.

The trees swayed as a slight breeze played through them and Steve listened to the quiet noise the tree’s made. It seemed he couldn’t escape memories lately and this noise brought him back.

* * *

It was 1939 and he and Bucky walked down a street together. Overhead, a tree’s late autumn’s leaves brushed together and made a sighing noise. Steve was arguing with Bucky about something though he couldn’t remember what. What he did remember was that noise and the laugh that consumed Bucky as they walked. They never fought seriously and one of them always cracked eventually.  


Steve looked up at Bucky for this was the time before the super serum and Captain America and the pains in Steve life were the loss of his parents and his constant illnesses. Steve had just gotten over a particularly brutal illness that had left him bedridden for two weeks. Bucky, who he lived with now, had come home every night from work to take care of him despite his obvious exhaustion. When Steve had felt a semblance of better, Bucky had insisted they go out to a dinner at their favorite diner.  


The bell jingled over the door as they slipped in and took their seats in a corner booth. The place is crowded with couples eating together and friends joking, the steady noise of other people filling the space. A waitress handed them menus, her eyes moving over Steve and resting on Bucky. This always happened, and Steve busied himself looking at the menu. Yet a part of him hurt to see Bucky, just over the edge of his menu, flirting with the waitress and ordering their drinks, always a coke and a milkshake. Something had started to grow in Steve the last few years, a yearning he couldn’t explain. There were times where he saw Bucky walk by shirtless and he felt the need to do something. He wasn’t quite sure what but the feeling he was having toward the waitress he had started to understand. Jealousy.

* * *

“Steve?” A hand presses against Steve’s back as Bucky, the Bucky of this time, came to stand next to Steve at the window.  


His hair was tousled from sleep and he wore pajama pants that hung onto his hips. He had managed to pull on a shirt although it was Steve’s. Eyes still bleary from sleep, he leans into Steve’s side. The role reversal feels right, and Steve slipped his arm around Bucky’s shoulder. “Yeah Buck?”  


“Everything okay?” Bucky’s words were muddled, and he closed his eyes as he leaned his head on Steve’s shoulder.  


Steve couldn’t help but smile as he pulled Bucky closer to him. “Yeah. I was thinking about the first time I realized I loved you.”  


“And when was that?”  


“1939. After I got over that two-week sickness and we went to dinner at the diner. You kept flirting with the waitress and I started to feel jealous. After that I noticed every time you walked by my heart would speed up. If you’d check my wrist,” Bucky gives him a look and Steve chuckles. “I know you were checking my pulse. Anyways, I felt like I was floating. It was only after they unfroze me and I got time to think that I realized. Love has so many different meanings now and different ways of manifesting. I knew I loved you. I didn’t know how much I wanted to be with you till you were gone.”  


A silence stretched between them the two of them, sucked together by the force of past and the love that had blossomed there. It was a love that wouldn’t have been accepted, that they wouldn’t have been able to express. Now they stand together, two pieces of a puzzle that hadn’t snapped together finally in the right place.  


Finally, Bucky let out a soft sigh, kissed Steve’s cheek lightly and slipped out from under his arm. “I love you too Stevie. Let’s eat.”  


Steve watched as Bucky walks toward the kitchen, humming a tune they used to listen to. The momentous feeling of love crashed into him and all Steve could do was thank whatever was out there that he got a second chance. Steve thanked them for this chance to love and be loved by the one who had always been meant for him. Then he followed Bucky into the kitchen, the growl of his stomach hard to ignore.


	2. Bucky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers are back in New York to visit their old home. They decide to check out old sites when they find the diner that they used to eat at all the time. When they go to have dinner there, they talk about the first time Bucky realized he was in love with Steve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!
> 
> It's finally here, the second chapter! I am so excited to share this chapter with you. The two chapters of this story were actually separate fan fictions before I realized they went together and made this into a two chapter piece. I really love this chapter as I got to explore Bucky a bit more and to write a time when I think the two would have fallen in love.
> 
> This was also written before the Avengers: Endgame trailer was dropped. That trailer honestly ruined me but also inspired me to write so many more fan fictions about these two.
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy!

Steve Rogers has never wanted notoriety. When he had joined the war, became a super solider and took on the mantle of Captain America, he had done it to help the war. Steve had wanted to help his country through a time where they didn’t know what the next day would bring.

Now, when the war was long over, and Steve had waged many other battles, he was recognized as s a hero. Unlike Tony, who loved the celebrity and used it to his advantage, Steve wants to hide from his. Steve had used his fame to speak out against corruptness in his government and the rights of all. But he could never get used to being recognized walking down the street. They had long since gotten rid of his exhibit at the Smithsonian, especially after his refusal to bend to the government, which was a relief. Yet Steve could never out run his own celebrity, especially when the man on your arm was an adopted member of the Wakanda royal family.

It turned out that the royal family had developed a soft spot for Bucky. They had adopted him into their family, granting him diplomatic immunity. Now, Steve and Bucky walk down the streets of New York, taking in how it had changed. Steve tries to hide his face with a baseball cap while Bucky is sporting dark sunglasses. Bucky had tried to convince Steve to wear sunglasses as well, worried about him getting cataracts. Steve had politely refused the request, saying that the serum wouldn’t let that happen. Bucky was still a bit groused about it but had dropped the subject.

They had decided a vacation was needed after the Thanos problem. When Steve had thrown around the idea of a trip to New York, Shuri had jumped at the idea, insisting that she come. They had gladly accepted her company and showed her the places they had visited in the 40’s though many of the places were now gone. When Shuri had gotten too tired to continue, Steve and Bucky had escorted her back to the hotel and set off on their own.

“I can’t believe it’s still here,” Bucky say, amazement coloring his voice.

Steve and Bucky had decided to see if the diner they used to frequent was still there. They stand in front, struck by the contrast between the last time they’d been there and the present day.

“We should get something to eat,” Steve says impulsively, turning to Bucky.

Bucky snorts, shaking his head. “What about Shuri?”

“Knowing her, she’s going to order room service. Come on, Buck. It’ll be like old times.”

Bucky can’t resist the smile that Steve sends his way and he nods. Steve grabs his hand, pulling Bucky to the door with a laugh. It’s almost as if Bucky is seeing two versions of Steve overlaid over each other. The same laugh comes from the same person, but he can see the Steve of then and the Steve of now.

They enter the diner and take a seat in the corner booth, Bucky sliding off his sunglasses the second he’s inside while Steve takes off his baseball cap. Steve slides in across from Bucky and sends him a smile. Bucky’s heart constricts with love as he looks at Steve and smiles back. They keep their heads down as they both order burgers, fries, cokes and milkshakes. When the waitress is gone, Steve looks up and around. The only other customers are an elderly couple and a family with a son and daughter.

As Bucky watches Steve, he begins to relax into the seat. He remembers sitting in this same seat many times, staring at Steve in various states of being put together and sometimes bruised from a fight.

“This was where I knew I was in love with you,” Bucky says the words quietly enough that he doesn’t think Steve heard until Steve looks over at him.

Steve smiles as he leans forward on his elbows, studying Bucky. “When was it?”

“Remember the day after we went to Coney Island?”

“The disaster day? Where you lost all the money?”

“Shut it punk. You bought all those hot dogs.”

“Better than three bucks to try to win a stuffed bear- “

Bucky laughs as he leans forward and takes Steve’s hand. “Anyways! The day after, when we finally got home and got some semblance of sleep, we decided to come here after your ma left for work. I was sitting here, and you were sulking about the money. All I could focus on was how cute you were while you were sitting there, pissed as all hell at me. Then the waitress started getting harassed by that asshole of a guy. You had her come over and made sure she was safe until he left. It hit me then, as she walked away and all I could do was stare at you, that I was in love with you. Of course, during that time, I couldn’t say it unless I wanted to be beaten to death.”

“Times are different Buck.”

“I know Stevie. I don’t think you realize how much I relish in the fact that I can tell you I love you, hold your hand and walk down a street with you. There may still be those assholes out there but there is more love then there was in the 40’s.”

Steve smiles at this, lifting Bucky’s hand to his lips and pressing a kiss there. “Despite everything that has happened. I’m glad we ended up here.”

The waitress comes by, dropping off their drinks and food and they pull apart from each other, focusing on their meal. When Bucky takes the first bite he nearly collapses in his seat and smiles at Steve once he had finished. “Still as good as I remember.”

“Excuse me,” A small voice says from the side of the table.

Bucky looks over and is surprised to see the little girl from the other table. She looks up at both of them, her eyes wide. Bucky hastily drops the burger and starts to wipe his hands on the nearest napkin. He was used to this, little girls and boys wanting to get picture with Steve while Bucky helped take the photo.

“What can we do for you?” Steve asks, turning his full attention towards her and giving her a weak smile. It always seemed to weigh on Steve having people recognize him.

The little girl looks between them then starts to wring her hands together. She mutters something and Bucky leans forward to try to hear. The little girl squeaks and backs up a step.

“Don’t worry doll, I’m not going to hurt you. I couldn’t hear what you said,” Bucky gives her a smile and her face lights up as she smiles at him too.

"Can I get a photo with you two?” She asks, looking between Bucky and Steve.

Bucky is startled and looks across the table at Steve who gives him a wicked grin.

“I…er sure. What’s your name?” Bucky asks.

“Angelica.”

“That’s a beautiful name Angelica.” Bucky slides out of the booth, glancing over at the parents who have their cell phones out. “Do you mind if I pick you up?”

She shakes her head, dark ponytail swinging back and forth. Bucky leans down and lifts her up and as he does, she lets out a squeal of happiness. Steve slips by Bucky’s side, his arm sliding around his waist. The parents take several photos including one with the brother and then Bucky sets Angelica down on the floor.

“It was nice to meet you Angelica,” Bucky says, bending down to get to her level and giving her a smile. “Thank you for the photo.”

Angelica reaches forward and touches Bucky’s metal arm lightly. Thanks to Shuri, he’s able to feel the touch and the warmth of her fingers as they flex on his arm.

“I’m glad you are happy. You used to look so sad,” she glances up at Steve and then back to Bucky.

Bucky smiles as he holds open his arms in invitation and she steps into his hug. “I am happy. Thank you.”

“Thank you for the photo,” Angelica says, turning and running back to her parents, babbling a mile a minute.

Bucky stands up, his hand slipping into Steve’s as they watch the family go back to their meal. Steve can’t help but press a kiss to Bucky’s temple before sitting back down to his meal. They finish their food and pay, leaving the restaurant into the New York night.

“It’s going to start happening to you now,” Steve says, fixing his cap back on his head.

“What is?”

“The sightings. People wanting photos.”

“I didn’t mind.”

“You did great with her,” Steve says, taking Bucky’s hand. “Doing photos are going to be fun from now on.”

“And why is that punk?”

“Because I’ll have you to do them with,” Steve kisses Bucky lightly on the lips before starting to pull him down the sidewalk. “Come on, we better get back before Shuri orders the whole restaurant.”

Steve and Bucky start down the street, not rushing to get to their hotel but enjoying each other’s company. Although New York isn’t how they remember it, it’s still was their home and they still love the city. However, their home has moved not from a place but to a person and wherever each other was, that’s where their home was as well.


End file.
